


Ramona and the Trip to England

by mrsredboots



Category: Ramona Series - Beverly Cleary
Genre: F/M, Gen, Tourism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-06-19 13:31:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15510948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrsredboots/pseuds/mrsredboots
Summary: To celebrate Beezus' graduating from High School and Ramona and Howie's graduating from elementary school, Uncle Hobart and Aunt Bea take the family on a sightseeing trip to England.





	Ramona and the Trip to England

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bloodredcherries](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bloodredcherries/gifts).



All three Quimby sisters were red-eyed and sniffing as they came home from school and nursery on the last day of the school year. Beatrice, known as Beezus in the family, had just graduated from High School, and although she was looking forward to college in September, not all her friends would be going to the same college, and the end of an era was always sad. Ramona was just finishing elementary school, and looking forward to starting Middle School in September, but she had loved her Sixth Grade teacher and was sad to be saying goodbye. And Roberta was really crying because her sisters were; she knew she was going to Kindergarten in September, but it hadn’t really sunk in that she wouldn’t be going back to her nursery school.

“What a soggy bunch you are!” teased their father, looking at his daughters at the supper table. “I don’t know, first night of the holidays and you look like a mourners’ convention!”

“Oh, we’ll be cheerful tomorrow,” said Ramona, who knew quite well she wasn’t really that sad at graduating from elementary school, but it was nice to have an excuse to make a fuss. Sometimes she wished she was still as young as Roberta, who was expected to still make Great Big Noisy Fusses on occasion, whereas she, Ramona, was expected to have grown out of them. And, mostly, she had.

“Well, you certainly will cheer up when you here my news,” said their mother. “Your Aunt Bea called this afternoon, and said that she couldn’t let her oldest niece and namesake graduate from high school without marking the occasion in some way. And she and Uncle Hobart are going to England for three weeks next month, and have invited you and Ramona to join them.”

All tears forgotten, the sisters leapt up to hug their mother. “You did say we could go, didn’t you?” said Beezus.

“Yes, she talked me into it!” laughed their mother. “They are coming here for a week before their vacation in London, so they’ll be escorting you – and Howie and possibly Willa Jean, if their mother agrees.”

Ramona nearly pouted. Howie Kemp was all right, she supposed, and wouldn’t spoil the trip, but Willa Jean, although she was now nearly 8 years old and going into 3rd grade in September, could still be a pest at times. But perhaps she wouldn’t be allowed to go. And what about – “Roberta! Isn’t she a bit young?”

“Yes,” said their mother. “Aunt Bea and I agreed that Roberta would have a lovely summer with me, instead, not having to share me with you two!”

The next few days were very busy; the girls had to apply for passports, so an appointment was made at the nearest acceptance facility, and in the meantime they had to get photographs taken, and find all the documentation and so on that was needed. The clerk at the acceptance facility turned out to be very nice, though, and talked them through the process, and their brand new passports arrived the morning that Aunt Bea and Uncle Hobart arrived from Alaska.

Ramona still wasn’t quite sure she liked Uncle Hobart, who was actually Howie’s and Willa Jean’s uncle, not hers, but she did like Aunt Bea, who was her mother’s younger sister, and was delighted to see her.

“Thank you so much for taking us on this trip!” she exclaimed, rather meanly glad that she had said it before Beezus could.

“Yes, thank you so much!” added Beezus. “We’re really looking forward to it!”

“I hope you’re not made of sugar,” said Uncle Hobart. “It always rains in London, and we wouldn’t want you to melt!”

“Now, Hobart,” chided Aunt Bea. “It might be lovely – London in June and July often is.” Nevertheless, both Beezus and Ramona made sure they had packed raincoats and umbrellas before they left.

None of the children had ever been on an airplane before, and found the whole process of checking in and going through security infinitely fascinating. They listened carefully to the safety announcements, and worked out where the nearest exits would be if they were needed. Willa Jean grabbed Ramona’s hand when the plane revved up to take off, and, truth to tell, Ramona was quite glad to have a hand to hold.

The flight was without incident. They all enjoyed the meal that was served, and they watched a movie, and then, although it was still early by Portland time, snuggled down with their blankets and pillows. Ramona thought she would never sleep – she had never tried to sleep sitting up before – but the next thing she knew, the plane was beginning to come in to land at Heathrow Airport, London.

Uncle Hobart and Aunt Bea had done their homework and found that the easiest way to get from the airport to central London was by train. “And then we’ll take a taxi to the hotel,” explained Aunt Bea. “We won’t normally take taxis, but we are tired today and we’ll want to check in and have a shower. Do try not to go to sleep now until bedtime, and it won’t be long before you’ve adjusted to the time difference.”

Ramona was a bit sceptical, but any tiredness she and the others felt was soon forgotten as, after lunch, they rode two sightseeing tour buses, “so that you can see what there is to see, and decide what you’d like to come back and see in more detail,” explained Uncle Hobart.

They were surprised to see English children still wearing school uniform, and even more surprised when Aunt Bea explained that the schools here didn’t finish until nearly the end of July, and only had about five weeks summer vacation before they started again in September. But she went on to say that they shouldn’t feel sorry for them, as they had a great deal more vacation during the course of the school year, so it all averaged out the same in the end.

After an early night, everybody felt much better and more alert, and ready to discuss what they wanted to see. Howie wanted, above all else, to ride the subway, which he was told was called the Underground or the Tube here. Willa Jean said she wanted to see the bridge that lifted up, which she had seen on a tourist guide. Ramona said she would like to see the Tower of London and Beezus, while agreeing, said she’d love to see the expensive shops one day.

“We can do that another day,” said Uncle Hobart. “For today, we’ll take the Underground and visit the Tower of London, and Tower Bridge, which is the bridge you wanted to see, Willa Jean. It has its own museum, so if we have time and energy, we’ll have a look at that, too, and we’ll see if we can find out if it is due to open today.”

This set the tone for the first week of the holiday. They would decide in the morning what they would do that day, and head off shortly after breakfast. They would have lunch in one of the many sandwich shops dotted about London, and return to the hotel for a fairly early dinner. After which, Aunt Bea and Uncle Hobart tended to leave Beezus in charge while they went out for a drink, or once to the theatre. The younger children were supposed to be in bed by 9:00 pm, and Beezus would very often join them, although sometimes she would watch something on television in the sitting-room of their suite.

But in the second week, everything changed, as Grant Curtis and his family arrived at the hotel. Grant was also 18, and had just graduated from High School, and his parents were giving him this trip as a reward. He and his family lived in California, but Grant had managed to get a scholarship to Harvard. He and Beezus hit it off at once, and rapidly became inseparable.

The adults, too, liked each other, and the evening drinks rapidly became a foursome. Grant and Beezus soon got permission to go off together during the day. This suited Ramona, as she had a feeling that Beezus hadn’t really enjoyed some of the more off-beat museums she had wanted to visit, such as the Hunterian museum of surgery, and the younger children had all been slightly bored by the Dickens museum that Beezus had loved. And when they ventured further afield, on day-trips to Oxford, and Bath, and, one hectic day, Winchester, Salisbury and Stonehenge, Grant very often came too, or else his parents would arrange to meet up with the Quimby/Kemp contingent when they had arrived.

Grant and Beezus began to disappear in the evenings, too. Howie and Ramona said nothing of this, assuming they had permission; they were, they considered, well old enough to put themselves to bed at a reasonable hour, and to see that Willa Jean went, too. Beezus would tiptoe in at about 11:00 pm, and although Ramona would half rouse when she heard her, she soon went straight back to sleep again.

But then one night, almost at the end of the holiday, Ramona woke up in the middle of the night and Beezus wasn’t there! Ramona looked at her travelling alarm-clock, and it said 2:00 am. She didn’t know what to do. Ought she to wake Uncle Hobart and Aunt Bea and tell them? Or should she wait until the morning. But what if Beezus was in trouble, or something? She had gone out with Grant, but she hadn’t said where she was going. Ramona tossed and turned for a while, trying to decide what to do, and, just as she had decided that she must go and wake the adults, Beezus tiptoed in.

“Why are you awake?” she asked. “It’s the middle of the night!”

“I know,” said Ramona, crossly. “That’s why! I was worrying about you, and wondering whether to wake Aunt Bea and tell her you weren’t there.”

“Thank goodness you didn’t!” exclaimed Beezus. “I was with Grant, so I was perfectly safe. In fact, I was in his room. We fell asleep. I quite nearly spent the whole night there. Maybe I will, tomorrow night!”

Ramona sighed. She was used to this. Most of the time, Beezus was perfectly sensible, far and away the most sensible of the three sisters. She very seldom did anything stupid, unlike Ramona, who often did. But when she did break out, she did so with a vengeance.

Ramona knew, vaguely, what went on when you spent the night with a boy, although she wasn’t yet interested in finding it out for herself. But – “Beezus, what if you get pregnant?” she had to ask.

“Don’t be so silly, Ramona,” exclaimed Beezus, crossly. “We took precautions.”

“What are precautions?” asked Ramona, who really didn’t know, but before Beezus could explain, she added, “And what about Germy?” referring to Jeremy Kidd, Beezus’ boyfriend, who was the brother of her own best friend, Daisy.

“What about him?” asked Beezus, crossly. “Nothing to do with him!”

“But he’s your boyfriend, and if you’re going to bed with Grant, too...”

“What do you mean, too? Anyway, Jeremy’s more-or-less history as we won’t be going to the same college.”

“Well, nor won’t you and Grant,” pointed out Ramona, but Beezus didn’t seem to think this was an issue.

“Don’t you dare say anything to Aunt Bea or Uncle Hobart!” she exclaimed forgetting, in her irritation, to be quiet. And a moment later, there was a soft knock on the door, and Aunt Bea came in, looking sleepy.

“Are you all right, girls? I heard voices, and wondered if someone was unwell?” Then she noticed that Beezus was still dressed, and came to the obvious conclusion. “If you’re both all right, we’ll talk about it in the morning. No more talking now. Good night!”

“ _Damn!”_ swore Beezus, under her breath, but obediently got ready for bed and snuggled down. Ramona, however, lay awake for some time, wondering and  thinking.

T he next morning, after breakfast, Aunt Bea beckoned Beezus into her bedroom and shut the door. It was some time before they emerged, and Beezus was pale and red-eyed. 

The adults and children had planned to go to Kew that day, to visit the London Museum of Water and Steam, and the eponymous gardens. They had assumed Beezus and Grant would be doing their own thing, but Aunt Bea said. In a voice that did not allow questions, that Beezus would be going with them for the next few days. But then there was a knock on the outer door of the suite, and Grant came in. He apologised to Uncle Hobart and Aunt Bea for having kept Beezus out so late the night before, and said he quite understood that they would want to keep an eye on her, but might he be allowed to join them for their excursion? 

Aunt Bea and Uncle Hobart liked Grant, and were perfectly happy for him to join them,  and for the last few days of their holiday, he came with them. However, Aunt Bea and Uncle Hobart no longer went out in the evenings, and Beezus felt very guilty about this. 

“But it didn’t matter,” said Ramona. “We were quite safe by ourselves, and went to bed at nine, like you said.”

“Yes,” said Aunt Bea, “but the point was, we had asked Beatrice to be there with you, and she not only didn’t stay, but let us think she was staying. That was deceitful. And you didn’t like it when you woke up in the middle of the night and she wasn’t there, did you?”

“No,” said Ramona, “but….”

“Well then,” said Aunt Bea. “But I know Beatrice has learnt her lesson, and won’t be deceitful again.”

“I didn’t mean to be deceitful,” said Beezus. “I just didn’t think.”

“And if that’s the worst thing you ever do,” said Uncle Hobart, “you’ll grow up into a decent woman, one of these days!”

All too soon the last day of the holidays approached. They spent it buying souvenirs for their friends at home, their parents, Roberta, and anybody else they thought of. “Keep them small, kids,” said Uncle Hobart. “We can’t afford any excess baggage on the trip home!” Ramona, who didn’t have much money, bought everybody erasers shaped like various London landmarks, and got very cross with Howie when he wanted to do the same.  Willa Jean was diverted towards tiny notebooks with pictures of the landmarks on them, but Howie continued to want to buy erasers for everybody. 

“Look here,” said Aunt Bea, who knew Howie and Ramona of old, “It doesn’t matter if you both buy erasers, as long as you don’t give the same ones to the same people. Work out who you are giving them to, and then ensure that if you, Ramona, are giving someone Tower Bridge, Howie gives them the Houses of Parliament, and vice versa.”

As it turned out, there was very little overlap between the people they wanted to give souvenirs to, so  they could settle things amicably. And all too soon it was the last day, everything was packed, and the headed out to the airport, this time going on the Tube all the way. And the long, endless flight back to Portland, and, finally, home. 

“And still another month before school starts!” exclaimed Ramona.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so sorry - I realised, as soon as I started to write, that I really don't know enough about American life and schooling to write the story I'd planned for Ramona, in Portland; rather than risk appalling errors, I decided to transfer the action to London! I hope you enjoyed the sisters' visit!


End file.
